Summary:
The story begins when Douglas has just been sent to spend a year with Mr. Covey
Frederick is clumsy and awkward and is whipped often by Mr. Covey.He and other slaves work in harsh conditions under the watch of Mr. Covey for 6 months.Frederick says that he has been turned from a man into a brute.
Then one day he falls ill and Mr. Covey hits him over the head to make him get up.He runs to Master Thomas’ and then to the house of another slaves free wife. There he gets a root from the other slave who tells him that he cannot be whipped as long as he has the root.
When he returns to Mr. Covey’s Covey attempts to beat him but Douglas fights back.He is never whipped again and he explains how he has become “free” and a man again.
Reading Strategy: Author’s purpose
His purpose was to prove to people that common perceptions of African Americans of the time were wrong.Which he does by showing how he resisted slavery and by simply writing his autobiography proving that slaves were not inferior.
Significance: It was written in the 1830s before the civil war.It was unheard of for a slave to speak out and it angered many people.It did however change the minds of many who had thought that slaves were inferior people.
The story begins when Douglas has just been sent to spend a year with Mr. Covey
Frederick is clumsy and awkward and is whipped often by Mr. Covey. He and other slaves work in harsh conditions under the watch of Mr. Covey for 6 months. Frederick says that he has been turned from a man into a brute.
Then one day he falls ill and Mr. Covey hits him over the head to make him get up. He runs to Master Thomas’ and then to the house of another slaves free wife. There he gets a root from the other slave who tells him that he cannot be whipped as long as he has the root.
When he returns to Mr. Covey’s Covey attempts to beat him but Douglas fights back. He is never whipped again and he explains how he has become “free” and a man again.
Reading Strategy: Author’s purpose
His purpose was to prove to people that common perceptions of African Americans of the time were wrong. Which he does by showing how he resisted slavery and by simply writing his autobiography proving that slaves were not inferior.
Significance:
It was written in the 1830s before the civil war. It was unheard of for a slave to speak out and it angered many people. It did however change the minds of many who had thought that slaves were inferior people.